1. I will be digging up rhizomes of a third-year Goldings plant. They didn't do so well, maybe because of the climate here in South Carolina, I'm not too sure but I'm willing to trade for some different varieties. Does anyone have some rhizomes you want to trade? Something that might do well in a moist, hot climate?

2. Does anyone know why I cannot find rhizomes for my favorite hop, Cluster? Are they legally protected by their growers? I would be willing to buy or trade them.

Sorry, no Cluster to trade here just Simcoe, but if you pick them really late they kind of pick up that 'Cluster' character. Just foolin'. You could try some Canadian Redvines which are pretty similar to Cluster and are very vigorous, even enough to grow down your way. Check out freshops.com in a month or two as I know they sell Redvine rhizomes. Hop on!

when the ground thaws a little more i'll have a ton of cascade rhizomes and some crowns i'd like to get rid of for english varieties. I know these aren't the most exciting variety but i got them for sure. I transplanted some centennial, chinook, columbus, nugget, and willamette at the end of the season so it's possible those will have some rhizomes as well.

when the ground thaws a little more i'll have a ton of cascade rhizomes and some crowns i'd like to get rid of for english varieties. I know these aren't the most exciting variety but i got them for sure. I transplanted some centennial, chinook, columbus, nugget, and willamette at the end of the season so it's possible those will have some rhizomes as well.

I'm dividing my fuggles this spring, I would definatly be interested in centennial and chinook.pm me if you're interested.

when the ground thaws a little more i'll have a ton of cascade rhizomes and some crowns i'd like to get rid of for english varieties. I know these aren't the most exciting variety but i got them for sure. I transplanted some centennial, chinook, columbus, nugget, and willamette at the end of the season so it's possible those will have some rhizomes as well.

I had very good results with cascades, I will message you when I dig those Goldings

2. Does anyone know why I cannot find rhizomes for my favorite hop, Cluster? Are they legally protected by their growers? I would be willing to buy or trade them.

Cluster was a popular hop in the 1800's, I'm sure they are not protected. I doubt it had any kind of legal protection back then but if it did it must have expired at least a century ago They are probably hard to find because the demand is so low.

You could try some Canadian Redvines which are pretty similar to Cluster and are very vigorous

Clusters and RedVine are very different plants, but have a strange interconnection. According to the USDA records, RedVine was often planted in cluster fields to "increase" yield. Workers were paid by the rhizome when digging for new fields - since RedVine puts out massive roots - the new fields were almost entirely RedVine.

So, it is possible, that what you thought was Cluster was actually RedVine...

HopsDirect recently posted this on Facebook:
"The following rhizome varieties will be available for purchase via www.hopsdirect.com the first week of March: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Cluster, Galena, Magnum, Mt. Hood, Nugget, Tettnanger, and Willamette. Rhizomes are $7.00 each, Cheers!"

So, it is possible, that what you thought was Cluster was actually RedVine...

Back in the late 80's/early 90's, I was given some rhizomes and were told they were Canadian Redvine. Never heard of them so I contacted Dr. Al over at the USDA farm in Corvallis. He asked me to send him some to grow to find out if they actually were because when they were ripped up (long ago), no one ever thought of saving some for the gene pool. He confirmed (through oil testing) that they actually were and now has them growing across the river at the germplasm repository. My 15 minutes of hop fame, hahaha!